Thai Pork Larb (34g Protein)

Jump to recipe ↓

Larb is the rare dish where lean ground pork is actually the right call, not a compromise. The meat gets dressed hot with lime, fish sauce, and herbs, so there is no sauce for fat to carry. You get 34g of protein in a 265 calorie serving, and the whole thing takes 20 minutes.

The non-negotiable part is the toasted rice powder. It takes 7 minutes, one pan, and zero skill, and it is the difference between larb and seasoned mince.

Why this works

Two things. First, the pork cooks in a splash of water instead of oil. That sounds wrong, but larb pork is supposed to be tender crumbles, not browned crust, and the water steams lean meat through without drying it. Second, the dressing goes on while the pork is hot. Warm meat absorbs lime and fish sauce; cold meat just sits in it.

Ingredient notes

Ground pork at most US supermarkets runs fatty, so ask the butcher counter for ground loin, or buy a pork loin and pulse it in a food processor in chunks. Sticky rice is traditional for the rice powder but jasmine works fine. Thai roasted chili flakes (prik bon) are worth buying once; regular chili flakes are an acceptable stand-in. Do not skip the mint. Cilantro is the supporting act here, mint is the lead.

Thai Pork Larb

Lean ground pork tossed warm with lime, fish sauce, herbs, and toasted rice powder. No wok skills required.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 12 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 265

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 650 g lean ground pork about 1.4 lb, ask for ground loin or 93 percent lean
• 3 tbsp uncooked sticky rice or jasmine rice for toasted rice powder
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp lime juice about 2 limes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chili flakes Thai roasted chili flakes if you can get them, more to taste
• 3 shallots, sliced thin
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup mint leaves loosely packed, torn
• 1 cup cilantro loosely packed, roughly chopped
• 2 heads little gem or butter lettuce leaves separated, for cups

Method

 

1. Make the toasted rice powder first. Put the raw rice in a dry pan over medium heat and shake it around for 5 to 7 minutes until it is deep golden and smells like popcorn. Grind it coarse in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. It should feel like sand, not flour.
2. Cook the pork in the same pan over medium-high with 3 tablespoons of water, breaking it into small crumbles. No oil. The water keeps the lean pork from catching while it cooks through, about 6 minutes. Do not brown it hard; larb pork should be tender, not crusty.
3. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and chili flakes while the pork is still hot so it drinks up the dressing.
4. Let it cool for 2 minutes, then fold in the shallots, green onions, mint, cilantro, and most of the rice powder.
5. Taste. It should hit sour first, then salty, then heat. Adjust with more lime or fish sauce.
6. Pile into lettuce cups, dust with the remaining rice powder, and eat warm or at room temperature.

Tips and storage

Larb keeps surprisingly well. Store the dressed pork separate from the herbs and lettuce and it holds 3 days; fold the herbs in fresh each time. The rice powder keeps for weeks in a jar, so toast a double batch. If you like the lettuce cup format, my beef bulgogi lettuce wraps run the same play with beef, and for a saucier Thai ground meat dinner over rice there is always Thai basil chicken. If you want a pork meal prep that survives four days of fridge time, the lemongrass pork bowls are built for it.